


Little Brother No More

by deanandsam



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Gen, sam and dean - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-09 03:59:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7785898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deanandsam/pseuds/deanandsam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dean goes out for supplies, he could never have imagined how an incautious thought would turn his life upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The torrential rain provided tough work for the Impala's elderly windscreen wipers and Dean Winchester roundly cursed the intense storm which had appeared as if by magic in the previously limpid blue sky.

He'd left Sam back at the Motel intent on filtering out the most recent news bulletins which could be considered by any stretch of the imagination supernatural, and he and his Baby had gone to refurbish their depleted stores of batteries, holy water and other paraphernalia inherent to the hunting trade.

"A hunter's life depends on his tools," his father had drilled into them since they were children, along with any other number of pearls of hunting wisdom, but even with the most well thought out plans and best choice of weapons, Dean knew exactly on which side the Winchester luck would usually fall.

Murphy's law had nothing on Winchester's law; Murphy had it good in comparison!

 

He didn't know if it was the rain that had put him in such a pensive mood but an unbidden thought came into his mind.

What would his life have been like if Sammy had never been born?  
He promptly tried to put it out of his head but it kept bouncing back, so he rolled it around in his mind

Without Sam and all the evil which had rained down on his sibling, probably his Mom and Dad would still be alive and maybe he himself would've settled down by now with a wife and family of his own.

Hunting would never have been a part of his existence and though Mary had come from a family of hunters, her wish to get out of that life-style, a desire which had curiously echoed that of his little brother in his younger days, would have brought her and John to live an otherwise normal life.

At least that's what his little trip to the past in nineteen seventy three had shown him.

 

If Sammy had never been born there would certainly have been advantages to the remaining Winchesters, but that one being whom Dean loved most in the vastness of creation would never have existed.  
The life of his annoying, bitchy, danger-magnet, emo little brother placed on a scale, weighed down any counter-weight that could be placed against him.

In the most shadowed corner of his heart, he guiltily accepted that not even the combined mass of his mother and father would ever be enough to tilt the scales away from Sam.

There was nothing that ever could, he thought fondly as he manoeuvred the car as near as possible to the overhanging edge of the Motel roof.  
He gathered his purchases and made a bee-line for the door, managing nonetheless to get completely soaked in the few seconds it took him to take shelter.

As he turned to watch the rain batter down on the Impala's roof, he suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to see his brother. His heart in his mouth, he pushed the scuffed door open with unmitigated haste, an inexplicable, unreasonable terror crawling through his bones.

He burst into the room, not understanding the reason for the raw primal fear which had come over him.

It looked exactly as it had been when he'd left it.

Sam's computer was open on the table. His brother was no longer sitting in front of it but even geeky Sammy had to take a leak sometime.

He set the bags down on the table and peeked at the screen. 'Busty Asian Beauties.'

"Sam, you old hound," he grunted amused. "Always giving me the bitch-face, then when I'm not around you treat yourself."

 

He moved to the bathroom door and listened.

He physically felt the need to see his brother but he didn't think Sam would be too pleased at him barging in while he was using the head. The kid had always been prissy about his privacy

As the seconds ticked by and no recognisable noise came from the toilet, he knocked on the door.

"Sammy, you in there?"

To his chagrin the door slid open beneath his knuckles.

The fear that had just calmed itself returned ten-fold as he rushed into the bathroom. No Sam!

He made a one hundred and eighty degree turn, only then noticing there was only one bed situated on the opposite wall of the room.

 

The icy fingers that had coiled their way around his heart squeezed even tighter, and he knew without shadow of a doubt that his brother was gone.

He'd felt it in the car when the ridiculous thought had come into his mind about his brother non existing, that something strange was going on. His instincts were always spot-on where Sam was concerned and this time was no different.

He stood there utterly lost.

Part of him didn't want to believe what he was seeing, but the other part of him had already accepted that however hard he looked, he wouldn't find Sam.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Dean was a man of action and his first instinctive response to Sam's disappearance was to take a sledgehammer to the room, much as he remembered his little brother doing in the pathetic Mystery Spot House, with it's stupid tables glued to the ceiling, but though he knew he might get momentary relief by taking out his agitation on his surroundings, he highly doubted it would be of any help whatsoever in bringing his little brother back to him.

 

No, if Sammy were here, he'd put his brain to work and think his way logically through things trying to pin-point exactly what could have happened to provoke this situation.

God, if he hadn't gone for those stupid supplies he'd have been here with Sam! He'd promised never to leave him again but he couldn't have imagined that slipping out for an hour or so would have meant coming back to a Sam-less world.

"Stop it, Dean," he chided. "Moaning isn't going to get you anywhere!"

He'd been in the Impala when that damn thunderstorm had struck and those unsettling thoughts about Sam had come into his mind.

Sure, he'd mused about the way things might have been if Sam had never been born but he'd made it perfectly clear that Sam meant everything to him and that not even his parents could compensate for the love and the bond of brotherhood that tied him to his baby brother.

So it wasn't as if he'd wished him away, but in their world of weirdness even the most impossible things had been known to happen!

Maybe Sam was in some alternate universe like the one in which they'd been the actors in their own life story; perhaps this world's "Dean" was with his Sam trying to cope with the appearance of a brother he'd never had. Or maybe it was Dean himself who had slid into another reality. Or freakin' whatever!

Dean sighed, running a hand through his hair.

 

No, wait, the Djinn!

This was just some dream world it had implemented in his mind, while he was really hanging out to dry in some filthy warehouse. But if that were the case Sammy would still be here, for his dream world certainly wouldn't be a Sam-less one.

He moved to the computer.

He'd thought it belonged to Sam but he now recognised it as his own. They'd bought two in a bargain deal, and outwardly the two laptops were identical. As far as this "Dean" was concerned however, his tastes in porn were nothing if not similar.

 

He studied single bed.

It meant Sam hadn't just disappeared as in kidnapped, but whoever had been in this room hadn't need an extra bed to begin with, for there had been no-one with whom to share.

It had to be his fault this had happened. He'd done something to make his brother disappear, for if it had been a common enemy, why not get rid of Dean too?

A bag lying in a corner caught his eye and he emptied it impatiently on to the bed.

The usual stuff a guy would have with him fell out, pants, a couple of shirts, socks. Maybe this "Dean" was on a working trip or something.

He felt like an amputee; a part of him had been ripped out, but whatever had happened, there had to be a way to put the pieces back together, and by God he'd find it.

He yanked out the phone from his pocket.

Sammy was No1 on his speed dial but his desperation continued to plummet even further for flashing into life was the name Anna, followed by Mom, Dad and a list of names which were utterly alien to him.

He let the phone drop from his hand as if it had morphed in to a poisonous snake, the hot bitter tears which had welled up in his eyes spilling out unheeded.

 

When he'd re-established a thready control over his emotions he tentatively pushed the speed dial for the unknown woman's name and he started as a female voice answered.

"Dean, honey are you nearly home? I've got your favourite roast in the oven and 'you know what' for dessert."

Dean hesitated.

"Dean? Dean is that you?" The woman's voice had taken on an anxious tone.

He cleared this throat. "Yeah, yeah, it's me.

"Is everything okay? You sound funny, sweetheart."

"No, no! I'm… great, just a bit of a sore throat, is all," he croaked, wondering at the same time where the Hell home was. It's not as if he could just ask her outright.

"Have you see mom and dad recently?" he probed.

The voice at the other end of the line paused."Are you sure nothing's wrong? You sound really out of it."

Dean tried to keep his voice as calm as possible when all he really wanted to do was yell and ask her if she'd seen his brother, but he had to take things slowly, for Sam's sake.

"I'm fine. It's...well I had a kinda nightmare about them and I just thought I'd check, that's all."

"Oh! They're great, honey. I saw your Mom on my way to work this morning. Just another day at the office in Lawrence, eh!" Her voice calmer now that he'd given her a reasonable explanation for his akwardness.

Curiously enough, he wasn't far from Lawrence. It would take him a couple of hours from here.

"It'll take me another couple of hours to get there. I hear the roads are pretty busy."

"That's great. See you then, hon."

"Right." He closed the connection.

 

He typed Dean Winchester, Lawrence into the lap top and an address came up on-screen.

It was practically down the road from his childhood home; the house where his little brother had been born.

She wasn't kidding when she'd said she'd seen his Mom, it would be difficult not to bump into each other!

He collected everything that was in the motel room and took one last look around.

The last image of his brother had been of Sam seated at the creaky table, and Dean imprinted the image on his retinas, never to be forgotten.

 

Two hours later he drew up in front of a normal suburban home.

He'd just closed the door of the Impala when he was attacked by a skinny child who was doing its best to burrow its way into his stomach. "Dad, what took you so long? Mom said you were due back hours ago."

The child turned his face up towards him and Dean was convinced he was about to do the girliest thing in the world and faint, as he looked down into the huge adoring puppy eyes of his very, very little brother.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

It took Dean all of his considerable cool and self-control not to freak out on the spot but the child was waiting for an answer.

"Dad. What's wrong?"

Dean could hardly remember when his Sam had looked so small and defenceless but his heart felt as if it were being squeezed like a sponge because the kid hanging on to him evoked so many memories of when they were both children, and it had been him and Sammy against the world.

He studied the little face which looked up at him apprehensively, still waiting for a comforting answer, the big hazel eyes worried that perhaps he had himself done something to upset his Dad.

 

"It's nothing S….." he wasn't sure if the kid's name was Sam or not. "It's been a long drive and I'm a bit tired, that's all."  
The child studied him, still not convinced that all was well, but he accepted the words with a nod.

He was about to let go of Dean's waist and turn away, but Dean just couldn't resist lifting him into his arms and pressing the small head into the crook of his neck where it fitted perfectly, as it always had and still did, even with his own grown-up Sam.

 

"Sam, your Dad's tired after his long drive. Let him get into the house at least before you hassle him."

Dean looked over Sam's shoulder towards the owner of the voice and if the name Anna had meant nothing to him when he'd seen it in the number one spot n his cell phone, the woman who stood in the doorway of the house was very familiar to him.

He had enjoyed a one-off "angelic" romp with her in the back seat of the Impala before Sam had thrown himself into the Cage with Lucifer.

So, not so mysterious after all, he mused thoughtfully. Damn all angels and their freakin' interference in other people's lives, 'specially mine and Sam's.

Dean's earlier anguish had now morphed into a simmering anger.

He was done with these douche-bag angels shoving him and Sammy around. Demons he got but angels were crazy self-righteous dicks.

 

Sam made a move to obey Anna and put his feet down on the ground, but Dean's arms didn't release him, only wrapping themselves more strongly around the slight body.

Sam was his responsibility, big or small it made no difference, and he certainly wasn't letting any angel, especially one who had already killed Sam once, get her murdering hands on him.

The child felt his 'dad's' arms tighten and so he curled his own back round Dean's neck and held on, more than happy to stay where he was.

 

"Sam, …" she repeated, but that was as far as she got before Dean came right up into her personal space, eyes glittering like two hard green emeralds.

"Send us back right now to the way we were or I'll fry your ass in the biggest pan of Holy Oil I can find."

"Dean, whaa..!

"You heard me, bitch! I thought you were dead but it seems you heavenly trash have a way of turning up time after time. Didn't killing Sam once satisfy you or couldn't you wait to have another go?"

Anna's face took on a vexed expression.

"Dean, are you drunk, because if you're not, I can only think you've gone out of your mind? 

What on earth are you talking about, and anyway don't use that kind of language in front of Sammy!"

"It's Sam to you, bitch. I'm the only one who gets to call him Sammy! Now get us back to the way we were. I'm not going to warn you again," Dean ordered.

"Look," Anna's voice took on a wheedling tone. "Why don't we go inside and talk about this. There's no need to put on a show for the neighbours, they're nosy enough as it is. I'll make you a good cup of coffee.  
I've got your favourite pie in the oven, nice ad warm, just as you like it. Things will seem much better after."

Dean studied the woman carefully.

Was this all an act or was the Anna of this 'whatever it was', other reality, really this Dean's wife and Sam's mother?

Even if the woman was innocent, the entire affair had the reek of angel all over it.

 

The child stirred in his arms.

Dean lightened his grip, he'd probably been holding on too tight.  
This Sammy was a skinny little thing after all, nothing like his future Sasquatch self. He turned and smiled at the child receiving a wide toothy smile in response.

Yeah, he and Sam were still a team in any reality.

 

He nodded to the waiting woman in acceptance of her offer.  
He'd play along until he got to the bottom of this, but Sammy was never gonna be out of his reach. He'd temporarily misplaced his own Sasquatch but he wasn't going to make that mistake again.

He walked through the door with Sammy still in his grasp.

 

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

The interior of the house was as nondescript as the exterior, just your average working–class home, no more no less, though it was certainly an improvement on the scruffy motel rooms he and Sam had grown up in.

However if it was anything to go by, the Dean of this world wasn't earning a fortune.

He followed Anna into the modest kitchen, Sammy still in his arms.

The kid was a lightweight and Dean could have carried him all day without breaking a sweat.

Wouldn't it be great if his own Sam magically shrunk to this size when he had to carry his hurt ass out of danger on a hunt!

He took up a stance beside the kitchen table, waiting for "Anna" to make the first move.

"Dean, honey, aren't you going to sit down? Why don't you tell me what's going on? Maybe I can help. Did your trip go badly? I've never seen you like this before," she finished worriedly.

Dean studied her as she spoke. He wasn't going to give her any kind of information, not even the most innocuous.

"Look," she said, keeping her tone reasonable. "Why don't you put Sammy down, he still has his homework to finish. Maybe we can better work out what's wrong if we're alone."

"No," Dean growled, a wolf protecting its cub.

"Sammy stays right here. Let's just cut to the chase, I don't want coffee or pie or anything else from you, only the truth about what's going on here, and you're going to tell me! You really don't want to see me when I'm angry and I'm sure you'll have heard of my expertise in interrogation techniques," he warned.

She gazed at him with hostility.

"If you let Sam go, maybe we can talk about this like adults."

She nodded towards the child whose eyes had grown to the size of saucers by this time, trying to follow the sense of his parents' conversation.

Dean considered the situation. Maybe she was right. He smiled reassuringly at the boy in his arms and made to put him down, when the tee he was wearing snagged on one of Dean's jacket buttons, revealing a blue-black expanse of bruised skin on the child's shoulder.

Dean stared at it in shock, his accusing glance shifting to the woman, searching out the truth in her eyes.

She just shrugged and leaned back against the work-top.

Sammy was trying to pull at his shirt but Dean's hand gently covered his.

"What happened, kiddo?" he asked softly.

He felt the slight twitch of the small body but the boy answered calmly enough. "It's nothing, Dad.I told you I fell off my bike the other day when we talked on the phone, but I'm fine now, it doesn't hurt any more."

He smiled at Dean whose already tender heart melted even more.

"All right, Sammy."

He put the boy down carefully, and knelt on one knee in front of him, their eyes level.

"You go off and get your homework done and don't worry 'cause I'm never gonna leave you again."

Sammy's eyes held his, just as his own Sam's did, the silent exchange as valid now as it ever was.

Sam's size might change but their brotherly communion never did, even if in this case it was "fatherly."

The child smiled, trusting that what his Dad said was true, he'd never leave him, and he went off to his room, his step light.

As soon as he was out of sight, Dean moved in on the woman, pinning her against the nearest wall, her upper arms gripped painfully between his strong hands. Not that he cared a shit, she was no woman anyway!

Maybe Sammy HAD fallen from his bike, but by God if it turned out to be anything else he'd tear her limb from limb, something he was debating on doing anyway if she didn't come up with the truth!

Now that Sam was gone, her voice changed completely and her eyes flashed orange, "Dean Winchester, ever the arrogant bastard!"

He scrutinised her face carefully, a sardonic smile on his lips.

"So we're starting to tell the truth are we? Just which douche-bag do I have the pleasure of talking to today? If you introduce yourself, I can be polite and call you by your name instead of bitch!

I don't know why you picked me out for your little experiment but I must be real important if you created this whole world just for little old me," he smirked sarcastically.

"You brought it on yourself, you arrogant prick," she hissed. "You provoked me, Winchester and I decided you needed to be taught a lesson. Just what was it you said in the car?

["The life of your brother placed on a scale outweighed any counter-weight that could be placed against him."] That's a bold statement!

Well..Dean, you challenged me and now I challenge you. What better counterweight could be placed against your brother, than Sam himself?

This Sam is as real as yours, as is this world. He's the self-same Sam and yet he's not.

He has no big brother to look out for him and no mother, for she died when he was six months old.

This," she indicated her body, "is your second wife and Sammy's step-mother, and to be honest, I don't think she likes him very much, though I doubt she'd do anything to hurt him; well not much anyway, for she knows how daddy Dean dotes on him. But his job as a travelling salesman takes him away a lot and....." she smiled complacently. "... Kids can be so clumsy!"

"You perverted bitch!" Dean's face came forward until it was nearly touching hers "I'll make you pay for what you're doing to me and Sam."

She only grinned smugly.

"By the way, if I hadn't brought you to this reality, little Sammy would be crying his heart out in his room instead of doing his homework, because his daddy Dean would be dead by now.

He should have died on the way here, killed in a crash with a ten-ton truck, if I'm not mistaken! But you're beginning to bore me now Dean, so go enjoy your little holiday in this world. I'll talk to you again, or maybe not!"

"Don't you dare go off…...!"

But the being had exited the body he was grasping, and the Anna persona yelled in pain as Dean's fingers clawed into her flesh.

"Let me go Dean, you're hurting me."

tbc


	5. Chapter 5

Dean loosened his hold on the woman, realising the entity he'd been talking to had abandoned the body.  
He'd gladly have taken out his spleen on her nevertheless, but he could hear Sam's voice in his head bitching about her being human.

"We don't kill humans, Dean!"

"Yeah, yeah," Dean mouthed to himself.

Even when his Sasquatch of a brother wasn't physically present, his virtual nagging would still invade his mind, though in Dean's opinion there were plenty douche-bags who should have their earthly time cut short!

 

He gave Anna one last shake, just for the heck of it, before removing his hands.

That was a little down-payment for anything she might have done to Sammy, though he knew better than to believe a word that came out of the mouths of supernatural bitches!

Anna rubbed her arm where Dean had held her and glared at him as if he'd gone mad.

"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked curtly, uncaring of what she might think of him.

Her features took on a look of confusion.

"I..uh... don't know. I heard your car draw up in the drive-way and..." she hesitated bewildered,."….then just now, you digging your fingers into my arms.

What's gotten into you, Dean? You've never acted like this before."

Dean couldn't find a crumb of sympathy in his heart for her though she was probably as much a victim as he and Sam were.

Whatever this Dean had been like, he was betting he was a lot less dangerous than the Dean Winchester who was currently standing in her kitchen!

 

A smell of burning wafted through the room causing Anna to momentarily forget everything in her haste to rescue what was left of dinner.

Though Dean would usually have been upset by the burning of a perfectly good pie, he took the occasion to exit the kitchen.

Across the hall, he quickly picked out the door to the child's room, a low murmur of someone reading aloud, spilling out.

He tapped lightly on the half-closed door before calling Sam's name and going in.

The kid was stretched out face down on the bed, a open book in front of him.

Some things never changed in any reality, Dean reflected fondly.

 

Sammy turned and gave him a dimpled smile reminding him of how his own Sam had been at that age.

Dean had been a child himself then, an eleven year old single parent with more responsibility on his shoulders than any young boy should have, but here he was getting a chance to see his little brother through an adult's eyes, and though one could argue this kid wasn't the same Sam as his own, the essence of the child was identical.

He wondered what adult Sam was doing right now. Looking for him, no doubt.

Well, he was going to set things straight, but there was no reason why in the meantime he couldn't enjoy spending a day or so with his little son/brother, but not here.

Even if this Anna wasn't an angel, her appearance reminded him too much of Sam dead on the ground with a pipe sticking out of his chest.

The Impala was the safest place for them both, along with any anonymous motel they could find.

This Dean's computer was in the car so he was fine to do research on whatever douchebag had put him in this situation.

He sat down at the foot of the bed and tickled the sock-covered feet.

"Dad, stop it. You know I hate it," Sam complained as he pulled them away.

Yeah, Dean knew.

His own Sam had suffered from sensitive feet too, but that of course was before they grew into dinner plates!

He leaned forward and tousled the child's hair. "How'd you like to pay a visit to your grandparents?"

 

Sam's expression changed abruptly.

"Now? But.. Dad, mom's been waiting for you to eat dinner. She won't be happy if we take off like that."

"Don't worry.I'll take care of your mom. You get ready and come out to the car."

"But Dad, they don't like me very much. I'd rather stay here," he murmured in a small voice, turning back to his book.

They didn't like him very much! What the fuck, Dean thought. How could they not like Sammy?

He stood and picked the boy up.

"Now, why would you think that, kiddo? Did you break grandma's best china or what?" 

"No, Dad," the kid shrugged. "I never did anything wrong. They just don't like me." And he buried his face in Dean's neck.

 

Dean's arms tightened automatically around the child and his mind went back to what the being had told him; that this reality's Dean would've died on his way back home if he hadn't taken his place.

A cold shiver went through him.

Little Sammy would have been left all alone if it was true that John and Mary didn't like him, for he'd also been told that Anna was his step-mother and she wasn't over-enamoured of the kid either.

Just what was going on?

Well he'd find out first-hand from his parents themselves.

"Sammy." He gently pried the kid's head away from his shoulder. "What do you say if we go on a little trip, just you and me?

First we'll go to your grandparents' house and if they don't feed us we'll go for burgers. How does that sound?"

"Will you stay with me while we're there?" Sam whispered.

Dean pushed his head back down on his shoulder. "You can bet on it Sammy. We'll stick together the whole time."

He was getting inordinately fond of this child and needed to see him secure and happy before reversing whatever spell had been cast on him and getting back to his grown-up brother.

"Now, put a clean pair of pants, a shirt and some socks into your duffel and come meet me out at the car," he said putting the boy down.

"I'll go and tell your mom we're going out, Okay?"

Sammy looked at him quizzically but went to do as Dean asked.

In the kitchen Anna was grumbling at the burnt dinner.

Dean told her that he was taking Sammy with him to see his parents.

"You're taking Sammy. Why? You know they don't want him around."

"Then they'll just have to get over it won't they?" Dean stated flatly as he turned to go.

"You know Dean, it's as if you're a different person. You've turned into an arrogant jerk. What happened when you were away?'" she huffed.

"I died and was re-born," Dean answered brusquely, eyeing Sammy through the window as he made his way towards the Impala.

"Wait, when will you be back?"

"Don't worry honey, you haven't seen the last of me yet."

"Can I sit upfront, Dad?" the kid asked, eyes in full-on pleading mode.

It's a losing battle, Dean sighed. If I still cave in to my Sam's puppies when he's two metres tall, this kid will wrap me round his little finger. Gonna have to nip this in the bud right now.

He averted his eyes and laid down the law.

"No, way! Kids in the back. Driver makes the rules. Sammy obeys!" He turned to watch as a primordial bitch-face formed itself on the small features, and grinned to himself.

He eased the Impala out of the driveway and hoped that this was the last time he'd set eyes on the place. He'd settle Sammy with this reality's Mary and John then find a way to get back to his own.

The skanky bitch that had brought him here said she'd be back, and when she showed up he'd be ready for her, whoever she was.

Through the rear-view mirror he stole a glance at the child in the back and he baulked at the thought of the little guy growing up without his dad.

He drew up in front of the familiar house, as perfect as it had been in the Djinn's dream universe, even better, because his father would be inside. He wondered what his parents were like here.

Well he'd soon find out.

"Come on Sammy." He smiled encouragingly as he opened the rear door to let him out. "Let's go see Gramps."

The child looked up at him unconvinced. "Why don't you go first, Dad?"

"What the heck, Sammy! There's nothing to be afraid of."

"But they don't want to see me. They don't like me," the boy insisted.

Dean took the small hand in his own.

"Dude," he joked looking down at him "How can anyone not like you? You're as cute as a litter of new-born puppies"

Sammy just gave him a watery smile and held on tight.

It took only a minute for John Winchester to answer the doorbell.

"Dean."

His father's tall frame filled the opening and Dean's heart fluttered as he contemplated the familiar face.

There was more white in this John's hair and beard, but it was still him.

Dean had been left with mixed feelings about his own father. 

True he'd given Dean back his life by selling his soul, but at the same time he'd placed the burden of killing Sam on his shoulders should he go dark-side, though perhaps John had already known Dean would never have killed his brother, but forever tried to save him.

"Dean, why did you bring him?" he nodded towards the child peeking out from behind his son's legs.

Dean's warm feelings at seeing his father again cooled at his words.

"Him...?"

"You know how your mom gets upset when she sees Sam!"

"She does? And why?"

He felt Sammy squeeze even closer to his legs and he bent down and took the child in his arms, where he hurriedly buried his head in Dean's shoulder.

Dean's arms gripped the kid tight. He wondered why it felt so right.

"Dean," his father sighed "We've been over this a thousand times before. You know why!"

"You're joking, right?" 

Dean was flabbergasted. "You're trying to put one over on me? How can she not want to see her own grandchild? What can a seven-year old have done to her?"

"Listen, Dean. I don't want Mary to take one of her turns. Take your son home and come back on your own. She just doesn't want to see Sam. You know how it upsets her."

Dean couldn't believe it when John closed the door and left him standing on the step, Sammy's little arms tight round his neck as if he'd never let go.

What was he to do now?.

He tightened his hold on the boy. For once even the awesome Dean Winchester was completely at a loss.

tbc


	6. Chapter 6

Sam finally tore his gaze away from the computer screen, no longer able to ignore the burning sensation his eyes were trying to communicate to his stubborn brain.

The article he'd been reading was interesting but challenging, and it had riveted his attention completely.

He awkwardly pushed back the chair, the muscles in his back and legs complaining of the long inactivity on the uncomfortable seating accommodation, and made his way to the bathroom.

While he rinsed his eyes with the cool water, he realised his stomach was also complaining. Jeez! Just how long had his head been stuck in that research.

 

He glanced down at his watch, four hours! Four hours that had passed in a flash!

Dean! Where on earth was his brother?

He'd only been going out for supplies and food, surely he should've been back before now. Scratch that, he should've been back hours ago!

Suddenly all of Sam's spidery senses kicked in, including his instinct for his brother's well-being, and he knew without a doubt that Dean hadn't come back because something or someone had prevented him from doing so.

He dived for his phone, predicting beforehand that his brother's husky voice wouldn't be answering him.

Strangely enough, there was absolutely nothing, no ring-tone or voice mail. Dean's phone was completely dead.

 

He pulled on his jacket, checked his gun, flask of holy water and his salt dispenser, and with apprehension coursing through his whole body, he set out on foot towards the township, about ten miles away, to where Dean had said he was going.

Sam walked, ran and panicked alternately for around six miles, until he saw a sight that brought back the most terrible of memories; the Impala hit by an enormous truck, its steel plates twisted and contorted and its human cargo, already battered and bruised from the yellow-eyed demon's assault, hurt further by the tremendous impact.

Here she was again, once more in a nightmarish scenario; upside down in a ditch by the side of the road, practically invisible to the passing cars.

Sam scrambled down the side of the embankment, almost hyperventilating at the thought of what he might find in the wreckage of the black car. His worst fears came true at the sight of a body, Dean's body, crumpled up and bloody like some ketchup-covered corpse from a B-rated horror movie.

 

"Dean, Dean!" he yelled as he pushed a hand through the shattered front window to feel his brother's neck for a pulse.

"Dean..., please, man...please... don't be dead," he repeated over and over like some sacred litany, which it was, at least for Sam Winchester.

His brother Dean was his personal Holy Grail and without him, he'd no reason to continue living for he'd already experienced life twice without his brother by his side, and no way was there going to be a third.

At first he could feel nothing, but as his long fingers probed his brother's neck, he almost fell backwards with joy as a feeble beat fluttered under his touch. He pulled out his cell and dialled the hospital, keeping his fingers gently on Dean's skin, monitoring his brother until the ambulance crew arrived and pushed him away to let the cutting crew get to work to free his brother from the wreckage.

Sam's anxiety was so great that when asked if he could identify the man in the car, he blurted out their real names; their latest aliases completely forgotten.

 

When they eventually managed to get Dean's body into the ambulance, Sam went to take his place next to his brother, not shifting his eyes from Dean's battered face all the way to the hospital, except to ask the doctor if his brother would be all right.

The medic, while moved by the obvious anguish on the young man's face, could only give the standard reply; that they'd have to get him to the hospital first to assess exactly what his brother's medical situation was but he assured Sam that the fact he'd held out so long since the moment of the crash was an optimistic sign.

Sam just nodded. It was only his subconscious which registered the fact that Dean's hair was much longer than it should've been.

 

He paced the hospital corridors like a man possessed as the wait for news about Dean became more and more unbearable.

The sympathetic nurse at the desk felt her heart go out to the distraught young man, his concern for his brother evident for all to see in his wide teary eyes.

 

At the crash site, the urgency in saving a life had taken priority over anything else, but Sam had fully expected the police to show up and so he eyed the approaching agent without surprise.

Answering questions was the last thing he wanted to do but there was no point in putting it off.

"Excuse me sir. You're the one who called in the accident with Mr Winchester. You're his brother. Is that right?"

Sam nodded.

"Can you give us any more information about what happened and why Mr Winchester found himself on that road today?"

"Dean and I are just passing through. We're on a road trip between jobs and decided to stay a few days at the motel outside of town. Dean left to stock up on supplies but when he didn't show up, I got worried and decided to walk to town to see what was keeping him.

I tried his phone but it was dead, so I was certain something must have happened, but I've no idea how the crash came about, if he went off the road on his own or if there was another car involved."

 

Sam had told the agent the truth, he'd just left out a few details, but the cop seemed convinced by his explanation.

Winchester's story was plausible and the cop believed him. He put away his notebook.

"I think that should do for now, sir. We're still investigating how the accident came about but there doesn't seem to be any trace of another vehicle.

Oh, by the way, we found your brother's phone. It had been completely shattered in the crash. That probably accounts for it being dead.

Any news about your brother yet?"

"No, not yet," Sam answered worriedly.

"Well, he must be one hard nut to crack if he managed to survive a crash like that. I examined the wreckage and I can tell you not many would have walked away from it."

Somehow that made Sam smile. "Yeah, you can say that again. Dean's a real fighter. Stubborn to the end."

 

"Mr Winchester?" a voice said at his shoulder. Sam turned apprehensively.

"How's my brother, Doctor?" he asked, wanting and not wanting to hear his reply, in case the answer wasn't the one he hoped to hear.

"Well, he has multiple injuries, a broken leg and arm, a serious concussion from hitting his head against the windshield and deep bruises all over his body, but no vital organs have been compromised. May I just say that he has been very lucky."

Sam felt his body relax, Dean would be all right. That was all that mattered.

 

"Can I see him doctor?"

"He's still in surgery but soon he'll be brought to a room and you'll be able to sit with him if you wish."

Sam had the overwhelming urge to hug the man who'd just given him such wonderful news, but he contained himself and condensed all his emotions into a simple, "Thank you so much, Doctor."

The doctor felt satisfaction fill him at the young man's words. Saving lives was his job and he was glad he'd been able to give him some good news. It wasn't always the case, he mused sadly.

"The nurse will take you to your brother's room when he's settled in and if there's anything you need to ask me just page the nurse and I'll come along."

 

Sam took his place at Dean's side, and placed his hand over his brother's.

Dean didn't even realise he was there but it gave Sam comfort to feel the blood pulsing regularly through his big brother's veins, and when Dean awoke he'd know that he wasn't alone.

His head had fallen drowsily onto the bed-cover but he quickly came to attention when he felt a twitch in the hand beneath his own, followed by a soft grunt as his brother came out of his medically induced sleep.

Sam lifted his head to smile at Dean, wanting him to know that he was right here beside him.

He saw his brother's eyelashes fluttering as he tried to open them.

"Dean, hey!...How're you feeling?" Sam asked in a hushed tone. "Don't move, You've been in an accident. You were knocked up pretty bad but you're gonna be fine. Don't worry."

 

Dean turned his head towards him, the pain he was suffering etched into the lines of his face.

"How do you know my name?" he asked. "Are you a doctor?"

Sam was alarmed. The doctor had said nothing about any memory loss.

"Dean..., don't you recognise me?"

"I've never seen you before in my life," Dean replied.

 

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

"Dean, come on, man. Don't do this! I've been worried sick about you. This is not the time to go with the gags," Sam ventured, not wanting to believe his big brother didn't recognize him.

"I'm NOT joking," was the emphatic reply, as Dean turned his pain-filled, but lucid eyes up at Sam.

Sam tried to rationalize what he was hearing. The severe concussion he'd suffered must have given Dean some form of temporary amnesia. That could be the only answer as to why Dean didn't know who he was.

There's no need to panic, Sam said to himself. He'd call the doctor and let him deal with this unexpected symptom.

"Don't worry, Dean. You were involved in a terrible accident. It must have left you with an amnesia side-effect or something. I'll go get the doctor to have a look at you Okay!"

He went to turn away but the hand he'd been clasping until a moment ago, reached out and gripped his wrist.

 

"Wait." The familiar voice of his brother ordered.

"What are you talking about? I don't have amnesia. I remember exactly what happened. I was in a desperate hurry to get home and I had my foot down on the gas but when I went to slow on the curve nothing happened. It was as if the brakes were out and I remember swerving to avoid a truck and eventually ending up with the car going off the road into a ditch. Then I woke up here."

He grimaced in pain as he released Sam's wrist. "What shape am I in anyway, apart from the broken leg and arm?" he asked, nodding at the casts on his limbs.

 

"Just who did you say you were?" he asked looking up at Sam.

"Dean, you remember the accident yet you don't remember me," Sam stammered alarmed.

The green eyes studied his face intently.

"There's certainly something familiar about you," he admitted eventually. "Are you some long-lost cousin or somethin'? What did you say your name was?" 

Sam wanted to be logical and careful with his hurt sibling, who at this point must surely have experienced some sort of partial memory loss, but the words burst out before he could stop them.

"Dean how can you have forgotten about me, your own brother?" he almost pleaded.

 

"Hey man, I think you're the one with amnesia. I've never had a brother. I'm an only child, but I do have a wife and a son called Sam, if that can make up for it."

The bed-ridden man watched fascinated as a teary-eyed expression appeared on the tall guy's face. It was eerily identical to the one his little Sammy took on when something was wrong.  
Now that he noticed, the eyes were exactly the same colour too, a soft moss-green. The sensation of familiarity came back.

He'd definitely never met this shaggy haired guy, so why did he keep insisting he was his brother. However Dean had always been a good judge of character and he could tell the guy was sincere; he was even starting to feel sorry for him.

"Hey, listen," he said gently, feeling inexplicably protective towards the obviously upset kid.

"There must have been some kind of mix-up. Why would you think I was your brother. Just get it all off your chest, I ain't going nowhere. I got plenty of time to listen." He ruefully indicated his leg.

 

Sam nodded and looked away for a second, trying to understand.

Dean couldn't have forgotten about him if he remembered everything else, so the only conclusion possible was that this wasn't his Dean and if it wasn't his Dean, then the man in the bed was his only clue to understanding what had happened.

He sat back down in the chair and studied the face before him.

This guy's hair was longer than his big brother's. He remembered noticing it in the ambulance, but he'd been so worried that it hadn't registered. It was brushing his neck at the back and much longer on top.

His own Dean would never have been caught with hair like that.

Suddenly a longing for his brother washed over him. The man in the bed was Dean too, just he wasn't his Dean.

Sam sighed and started to talk, wondering how much to tell him. Better to keep things on a need to know basis, at least for now.

 

"This is going to be difficult to grasp, but bear with me.

My name's Sam Winchester and I have a brother called Dean who is identical to you in every way, even down to your voice, well except for the girly hair," he smiled, causing the man in the bed to look at him strangely.

"Never mind, it's just something Dean always ribs me about and now I could say the same about him, that is if you were him," he added hastily, "Ehm.. which you're not...!"

Dean continued to stare at him.

The kid was a bit over the top but there was something appealing about him; like an earnest puppy, so very similar to his own little Sammy. This whole thing was weird!

 

"Anyway," Sam continued. "Dean and I were on a road trip and we stopped at a motel just out of town. Dean went out to get food. I had some research to do and lost count of the time. When I realized hours had passed and Dean wasn't back yet, nor was he answering his phone, I went out looking for him and I saw the Impala upside down in a ditch.

At first I thought Dean...you..., were dead but you still had a thready pulse so I called the ambulance and you finished up here."

Sam stopped, impatient and curious to hear the other man's story.

 

The more Dean stared at the gangly kid before him the more his suspicions were becoming certainties, but he said nothing and began to tell his side of the story.

"Well, my name's Dean Winchester as you already know." His smile was identical to that of Sam's missing brother, though it had none of Dean's innate cockiness.

"I'd been away from home for work and was rushing to get back when the accident happened. There's not much else to tell. I live in a normal house in suburbia, I'm married and father to the cutest kid on Earth, Sammy. The little shit is the apple of my eye and he knows it too."

Sam saw the love reflected in the other Dean's eyes as he spoke of his son, and the situation fell into focus.

He remembered the other reality he and Dean had once been sent to, where their lives were a TV show. They had been the same two people, yet completely different.

For some reason, something or someone had meddled in their lives again and a similar thing must have happened.

If this Dean was here, it probably meant his own brother was in this man's reality along with a little kid named Sammy, only there he was Dean's son and not his brother.

Jeez, what a mix-up!

 

He wondered how Dean was dealing with that!

Knowing his big brother's love of children, he was certain little Sammy was in the best of hands.

The man in the bed continued to stare at him curiously.

"Sam Winchester, eh! So you're what my Sammy will be like when he grows up. A real Sasquatch," Dean grinned, obviously coming to the same conclusion as Sam.  
He might not be his Dean but he was just as quick to understand.

"You'd never have been be able to tell by the skinny little thing he is now. Six years old and no heavier than a couple of feathers!"

"Right, well," Sam smiled, remembering when he was that age. "You can tell him that if he eats his greens he'll grow up taller that his dad."

 

"So are you the younger or the older brother?"

"Dean's the elder by four years."

"Well if I'm identical to your brother that means you've got quite a few inches on him. I bet he's not too good with that!" alternate Dean remarked.

"Yeah, he calls me Sasquatch too, but I think he's all right with it really. He sees me as this eternal kid anyway, even if I am taller than him. Listen," Sam began, getting back to business.

"I know it's hard to believe but there's been some kind of swap with you and my Dean. Alternate realities and all that."

 

He expected this Dean to be surprised, but he seemed to take the news pretty calmly.

"You know it seems funny, but I've always kept an open mind on this kinda stuff. I've often felt as though there was something more to the world than what I was seeing around me, so to have a grown-up Sammy confirm it, seems proper somehow, but I don't know how or why such a thing could have happened.

We gotta figure that out before we can get things back to normal, me with my Sammy and you with your Dean."

He hadn't mentioned the supernatural, so Sam was pretty sure this Dean knew nothing about that, yet he wasn't panicking or calling Sam crazy either. Maybe this was how Dean would have turned out if he hadn't been a hunter, Sam mused.

 

"What about your Mom and Dad, are they in the car maintenance business too?" Dean asked.

"What..! Are your parents alive where you come from?" Sam asked with a touch of envy.

"Alive and kicking. They live a couple of blocks down the road from me in Lawrence."

Sam stared in awe.

This Dean's life had surely been a hundred times better than his brother's!

 

"Hey, listen, Sam," Dean hesitated. "When I said I didn't have a brother, it wasn't quite true.

Mom did have another child but he died the same day he was born; the doctors hadn't noticed the umbilical cord was twisted round his neck and he suffocated. He was called Sam too. My mom never got over it. She had a nervous breakdown and they never tried for any more kids.

When I married and Sammy was born, I thought mom would come to love her grand-son but she never wanted him around. He reminded her too much of her own dead baby. So poor Sammy doesn't get to hang out with his grandparents.

Then Sammy's mom died too, in a road accident when he was just three and I married again to try and give him another mother who'd love him, but I know my wife Anna really just puts up with him because of me.

I sometimes think he and I would be better off on our own. If I ever get back to him, I'm gonna rethink our lives; mine and Sammy's I mean."

 

Sam listened sympathetically as Dean poured out his life-story.

So things weren't all rosy for him and his Sammy either. He couldn't imagine his mother not wanting Dean's kid around but then what did he know, he'd no memory of his mom except for the short trip back in time with Dean.

One of the many times he'd died too, he remember wryly. Boy was their life bizarre!

However if what this Dean said was true, his little Sammy needed his Dad back as soon as possible, though he knew his own Dean would defend the little tyke against everyone and everything.

 

He felt Dean staring at him again.

Yeah, Sam thought to himself. I get it. You don't often get to see your kid all grown up before his time.

The problem was what to do now. He had no idea why this had happened and he wasn't sure if he should give this Dean the whole ghosts, werewolves, angels and demons are real, spiel.

He was afraid he might have to, for even if it wasn't his true brother, he was still Dean and his input could prove useful.

 

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Left standing outside the closed door, Dean gently stroked the boy's back, trying to infuse some comfort.

He quelled the urge to storm through and have a full-out confrontation with Sammy's grandparents, but he didn't know enough about the back story of Mary's trauma which had brought her to the point of refusing to accept the sweet, beautiful child he was holding in his arms, to do so.

He made his way despondently back to the Impala. Any hope he'd nurtured of leaving the child in the secure hands of John and Mary while he researched this disaster, had vanished.

What now? First things first. He'd find a motel and settle them in, then he'd try to get to the bottom of this entire affair.

The being which had briefly possessed this Dean's wife's body had been pissed with him personally. 

So he must have done something to provoke it, but what? It might help if he knew who the hell the douche-bag was!

  

Sammy snuffed against his shoulder, claiming his attention.

"Hey," Dean said putting the boy down. "None of that. We're gonna go off and have a good time together. What do you say to burgers and fries, with ice cream to finish it off?"

Sammy delivered a kid version of adult Sam's killer smile and it made Dean all the more motivated to gank whomever had messed up their lives.

"You always say burgers and fries aren't healthy for growing boys," Sam declared in a sing-song imitation of Dean's voice.

"I do?" Dean quirked an eyebrow. "But sometimes grown-ups can make an exception. Burgers and fries have their merits, and this is one of those times!"

  

He sighed at his mistake.

Sooner or later he'd blow the dad impression and Sammy would realise he was some kind of imposter. This Sam needed his dad back and he needed his own Sasquatch version .

"Get in to the car, squirt, " he grinned. "And if you're good I might even let you ride shotgun on the way back."

Sam beamed up at him, the encounter with John temporarily forgotten..

"Can we go to Plucky's?

Dean stared down in surprise.

"Dude, that's the sleaziest place on the planet. Then those clowns are scary!"

A frown formed on the small forehead. "No, dad. I like clowns."

"Huh! Still, we're not going to Plucky's." Dean declared emphatically, getting into his seat. 

"Driver picks the diner, back-seat shotgun comes along for the ride."

This Sam certainly hadn't been traumatized by clowns, Dean reckoned thankfully.

He wondered if his own Sam had been holding something back. He'd dig deeper into it when he got home.

For his ginormous little brother to be so scared of the painted jokers, something really bad must have happened to him. It was time for Sam to get it off his chest.

"Dad, are you feeling okay?

"Sure, why?"

"Dunno. You're acting kinda funny."

Dean reached back and tousled Sam's hair. "Naa. I'm good. I'm spending time with my favourite kid and that makes me act just a little crazy."

"Daaad, " Sam yelped, drawing away from Dean's hand.

Well it was nice to know some things never changed. Sam's mop of hair was forever taboo!

Sammy was curled up under the covers sound asleep while Dean was blowing his brains out researching.

There wasn't a great wealth of material on alternate realities nor how to breach them, and Dean leaned back in his chair, exhaling heavily.

He needed to sleep.

It seemed as if he'd lived an entire life-time in one day, yet only hours ago he'd been stocking up on supplies for himself and his brother.

Sammy cried out in his sleep and Dean in two strides was by his side.

The kid was only dreaming and Dean hoped with all his heart this child wouldn't have to go through what his own Sam had, memory of the nightmares and head-splitting visions which had plagued his sibling.

So far he'd seen no sign that this Dean was in any way involved with the supernatural. Perhaps this dimension was akin to the one where he and Sam had been actors and where nothing magical or occult existed.

He fervently hoped so.

So far he'd encountered two different versions of himself and Sam. He wondered how many more there might be.

Maybe there was one in which Sam was the big brother and Dean the kid. Serves the Sasquatch right, he grinned to himself.

Somewhere out there a Sam gets to struggle with a moody little brother!

The bed groaned as Dean threw himself down, his mind entertained by the idea of pissing off a big brother Sam!

He'd stocked up with salt and lined the doors and windows just in case, but now he needed to rest, he had to be at top to unravel this mess.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

Sam flicked through the pages he'd bookmarked. Nothing seemed to stand out which could explain what had happened. But until he found the cause, he'd no way of fixing this.

He'd wanted to stay at alternate Dean's bed-side in hospital, but he'd insisted Sam go home and rest.

There was no reason for Sam to sit with him all night when the nurse would give him something to make him sleep, Dean had assured him.

Sam had finally agreed, amused by the way this Dean talked to him as if he was a child.

I guess old habits die hard, he mused. This Dean's Sam was a little kid. He clearly wasn't used to the adult version, though his own Dean wasn't much better.

Adult or kid, Sam was always going to be the younger.

He wondered if in some theoretical dimension he was the elder brother and could kick Dean's butt, but then the idea of having to look out for his irrepressible big brother wasn't particularly inviting. Maybe some things had to be left as they were!

He had four hours left to get some sleep, then he was off to the hospital. It might not be his true brother lying in that bed, but he was still Dean and he had a kid who needed his dad back.

He imagined how it must feel to be Dean's son instead of his brother. It sounded weird, but then his Dean had been more of a dad to him than John had, so he supposed it wasn't so strange after all.

When he walked onto Dean's room, he was greeted by a relived smile. Maybe he'd been scared Sam wouldn't show up.

Sam's heart went out to this facsimile of his big brother. Not only was the poor guy stuck in hospital, but he was stuck in another reality too, and though the same could be said for his own Dean, his sibling had the knowledge and abilities to understand and investigate.

 

"Hey. How're you feeling?"

"Better. You think they'll let me check out?"

"With a broken leg and arm, you're not gonna get very far, man," Sam pointed out. 

"There's nothing else wrong with me. I can sit in an armchair anywhere. I kinda hate hospitals." Sam nodded his understanding, neither he nor his sibling were fans either! 

"I could hang out at your brother's place. Until you manage to fix things, he won't be using it anyway." 

"Yeah, about that. Dean and I don't really have a place. We.. Uh.. kinda travel a lot." 

Dean's eyes almost bulged in astonishment. "You don't have a house? Where do you guys sleep, in the car?" 

Sam felt his face suffuse with pink. He'd never been embarrassed before about his living arrangements, but somehow at this Dean's incredulity, he did. 

"Like I said, we travel around. Spend the nights in motels usually." 

Dean's face went from astonishment to resignation. "That means I gotta stay here, I guess," he said despondent. 

"Well, I suppose there's always Bobby's," Sam said thoughtfully. "Maybe he can give us a hand with the research too." 

Dean's bruised face broke into a grin. "Can't wait to meet the dude!"

tbc


End file.
